SIUE Recycles Thousands of Pounds of Used Clothing Through USAgain

24 June 2015, 11:32 AM

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s University Housing collected 2,310 pounds of used clothing during its end of the year textile drive in partnership with USAgain’s “Green Your Move Out” program.

“University Housing is committed to supporting sustainability, both through educating residents and by providing tangible opportunities for students to put sustainability into practice,” said Mike Schultz, director of University Housing.

The textile drive took place during spring finals week while students were moving out of campus residence halls. Students were encouraged to recycle unwanted clothing, sheets and blankets in a USAgain bin, rather than throwing the items away.

“The textiles are a completely recyclable product,” explained Jerry Bartley with USAgain. “Any of the clothes that cannot be worn are cut up into rags or made into insulation. It’s the easiest product there is to recycle.”

According to USAgain, SIUE’s recycled items have saved more than three million gallons of water, 13 cubic yards of landfill space and more than 16,000 pounds of CO2. The recycled textiles will be distributed locally and abroad.

“The recycled items go out to a lot of local thrift stores,” Bartley explained. “For example, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) stores buy about 30,000 pounds a week from us. There’s also a global need for these items. Just out of our particular market, 40-50 percent of the textiles will go across the planet.”

This is the third year University Housing has partnered with USAgain for the “Green Your Move Out” program. USAgain bins are located in Cougar Village parking lots for textile recycling throughout the year.